The Ottertail Central Bulldogs wasted little time in jumping on the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines, scoring 23 first half points and cruising to a 50-6 victory at the Don Seipkes Field in Henning on Sept. 7.

Nick Van Erp threw three first half touchdowns, while Sam Fisher rushed for a score and added a kickoff return for another.

A big punt return by Max Naddy set the Bulldogs up in perfect scoring position and one play later, the Bulldogs had a 6-0 lead when Fisher barreled into the end zone for a 24-yard run. Austin Wensauer added the conversion.

Van Erp was in total control of the Bulldogs’ offense. Unofficially, he passed for 171 yards with nine completions on 12 attempts. He also rushed for 48 yards on four carries. He connected with Blake Wallevand on a pair of touchdowns of 26 yards and 16 yards in the first half. The 16-yard connection came on the final play of the first half for the Bulldogs. He added a 38-yard connection to Brennan Amundson in the second half as well.

The Bulldogs were able to turn Wadena-DC turnovers into points. An interception by Fisher turned into a 2-yard touchdown run and a Blaine Wallevand interception turned into a 38-yard touchdown pass to Amundson, which capped off a 95-yard drive in five plays.

Fisher started the second half with a big kick off return, cutting through the Wolverines for an 85-yard score. Isaac Fisher added a fourth quarter touchdown for the Bulldogs.

The lone Wadena-DC touchdown came in the third quarter when freshman quarterback Payton Rondestvedt threw his first career varsity touchdown to Max Phillips for a 26-yard score. Phillips out-lept the defender in the end zone for the catch and walked into the end zone for the score. Rondestvedt completed three passes for 45 yards in relief. He threw for a touchdown and was picked twice. Hunter Hawkins had two receptions after for 19 yards, while Phillips had the other reception for 26 yards. Cooper Folkestad had a nice diving catch for the Wolverines that went for 23 yards in the first half.

Cade Kapphahn led the ground attack for the Wolverines. He finished with 63 yards rushing on 19 carries. Phillips added 28 yards rushing. The Wolverines came out with a different look offensively, coming out with several three-back sets instead of the spread offense.

The Wolverines will head home to take on United North Central on Sept. 14 for their 2018 home opener. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Groth is a Minnesota Newspaper Association award-winning Sports Editor of the Perham Focus and the Wadena Pioneer Journal. Groth worked in Grand Rapids as the Sports Director at KOZY/KMFY radio for two years and prior to that he was the Sports Editor/Writer for the Grand Rapids Herald-Review for seven years.